Women and prison -- the cost in money and lives

     In this article presidential candidate and Democrat, Hilary Clinton is giving her opinion on criminal justice rights for women. The number of women in prisoners has increases rapidly in the past 10 years. When these women are sentenced to prison it isn't just effecting them, but they're families as well. Families get torn apart and children are greatly effected by not having a parent figure in they're life. The majority of these women are being sentenced for victimless crimes. Hillary also states how women in prison should be more cared for because of the certain needs that they have. Lastly she states that we need to change how our sentencing laws are carried out. I agree with Hillary 100% on this, especially because criminal justice is a topic I feel very passionate about. I think that the cases should be further looked in to and those who are first time offenders should be let off a little easier. Also that people with drug abuse issues be treated rather than just punished because addiction is a disorder that cannot go away on ones own. Another big thing is the tearing apart of families. I think growing up with a mom is something every child needs and deserves. This relates back to class because the other day we each were split into groups to make a bill on the topic of our choice. My group chose criminal justice and just about all the things Hillary is talking about in this article were things that were on our bill. 

   

     

North Carolina governor signs controversial transgender bill

      In North Carolina a huge controversy is happening right now over the bill that the North Carolina governor has just signed. The bill states that cities cannot allow transgender individuals to use the bathroom to which they identify themselves as. This bill is called the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. The bill also states that the state government overrides the local government. A lot of people feel strongly about this law thinking that it discriminates the rights of transgenders/gays.
    I think that people have been going in the bathrooms of they're choice for a while and I'm not sure why this issue is just now being brought to peoples attention. I do agree that transgenders should not be able to use the bathroom of they're choice because 1) it gives an easy way for sexual predators to go into different sex bathrooms, 2) if you were born a man or woman that is what you are and just because you identify yourself as the opposite sex doesn't give you the right to go into the bathroom which is not your gender, and 3) I think that kids/young adults (being one myself) would feel uncomfortable having a person of the opposite sex in the same bathroom facility as them. A better solution to this problem would be to make special transgender bathrooms or unisex bathrooms so we don't have to worry about sexual predators or making people feel like they're privacy is being invaded.
    This ties in with AP Gov through political socialization in which this case is mass media. Celebrity Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlin has put in her own input on the bill through twitter. Because of how many followers she has and how many people look up to what she's done will affect the views of many on this topic probably making them see it as a bad thing,  as does Caitlin.

    This past February, the supreme court lost member Antonin Scalia. Scalia was 79 years old and was a justice for the supreme court for about 30 years. Since he's died there is now an even number of 8 justices instead of 9. This greatly effects the outcomes of things being debated upon because of the 4-4 splits. This has happened twice already in the past 8 weeks, one of the topics being public sector union fees. It's a big concern that the supreme court will have 8 justices til mid way through 2017. I think that this is a big issue because there definitely needs to be a 9th member in order to break the ties of the 4-4 outcomes. I think not only has the death of Scalia changed by the ties but also it helps to have one more persons input and to get the view of someone else's opinion can help sway the views the justices have on certain topics. This ties in with AP Gov because this past week we have been talking a lot about the Supreme Court justices and how they are nominated and voted upon. Its a hard process because we want to make sure that the person picked has the right backgrounds and qualifications and is fit best for the position. This reason is why they're may be only 8 justices until next year. 

                   Obama commutes 61 prison sentences

     In this article it is discussing how President Obama has reduced 61 peoples prison sentences who got in trouble for drug offenses. Over one-third of those prisoners were sentenced to serve life sentences just for drugs. President Obama is questioning our consequencing when it comes to drug laws because of how over zealous the sentencing terms are. He believes these people deserve second chances because of the situations which they were in to get them to prison in the first place. I agree with President Obama 100%. I think that people who get in trouble with drug laws should get consequences, but not to the extent that it's being taken to right now. Life in prison for being in a relationship with someone who deals drugs and knew what was going on? That is exactly what is happened to Ramona Brant who has been in prison since 1994. It doesn't really make since to me, yes she was in the wrong but shouldn't the consequence be smaller and shouldn't we be putting people who are committing more harsh crimes like harming/killing people in federal prisons. This applies to what we've learned in class because people are wanting to pass a bill to help reduce incarceration to keep all americans more safe. In order for this bill to be passed it has to be voted on by the house of representatives and senate and approved by the president. I definitely think this would be something beneficial to the people if it is passed.

      Abortion is a very popular topic that always comes up in politics. The most important case on abortion in almost two decades is being discussed and decided within the supreme court right now. In this article, the law that states all doctors must have admitting privileges at local hospitals and clinics upgrade their facilities to hospital like standards is being criticized. The dangers of abortion to women is a big concern involved with this but some beg to differ. Others say it is just a disguised attempt to end abortion.
       This ties in with AP Gov because we have talked about political ideologies, and the different things that shape political groups. Abortion is something that pretty much all political groups have a say on and put in their platforms. Because of people's strong opinions on this topic it can affect the way people vote or which group they decide to join. This article is also an example of litigation because it has been brought to the attention of the courts to protect women's rights.
      I personally think that abortion is something which should be decided on by the woman who is considering going through with the process. The case should be looked into because it shouldn't be something that is abused. I do agree that we should make the abortion process something that is safer and is easy to access for those who live far away from the clinics or for those who cannot afford it.

       In AP Gov we have learned a lot about the different ways of campaigning and the impacts they have on the peoples final voting decision. TV commercials have for a while been a very popular, but expensive way of campaigning. TV has always been one of the greatest effects of campaigning but because of a rise in technology and social media things could be changing.
      In this article it is talking about how in this years election, candidates are taking ad campaigns to the next level. Donald trump is not only appearing on tv but is tweeting his thoughts. Even People who are unfamiliar with social media somehow end up hearing what he's saying. trump didn't spend anything on ads in the first couple of months but he has gotten better at it and is now appearing on talkshows, radios, television ads, etc. Many think that standard political campaigning has become too limited and that it's time for a change.
     I agree, I think that the way Donald Trump puts himself out there in other ways that aren't costing him a penny is the way to go. Not that TV isn't another good way of campaigning but social media is a much faster and effective way of getting his thoughts out and point across. While commercials do explain what the candidate is trying to say, it just takes longer and could also appeal to different crowds of people.

                                                                     Torture Works

     What is water boarding? Waterboarding is a form of torture where a cloth is covering a persons face and water is being dumped on them so they feel like they are drowning. In this article Donald      Trump is stating his strong conservative view on how terrorist should be punished. He is a big supporter and believes that this kind of torture is the answer for interrogation when dealing with certain situations. He made it crystal clear that if he wins the presidential election he will be enforcing techniques like water boarding and probably worse on our enemies.

     I personally don't think that "torturing" someone for answers is the right thing to do. "They're chopping off our heads in the Middle East," Trump said. "They want to kill us, they want to kill us. They want to kill our country. They want to knock out our cities. And don't tell me it doesn't work — torture works. Okay, folks?" Just because another country is doing something worse to us doesn't mean we should retaliate in a way of harming another person back. I agree with trump that something should be done but is hurting someone the right way to do it?
      This ties in with what we are learning about because we have been talking about the election and campaigning process. Donald trump answered questions during this campaign at Town Hall in Bluffton, SC. doing his best to show off what he's going to do to help our country and to help his results on the polls.